Funny thing, I did a few races in 2011 without goggles. It sucked but possible.

jaretj

First sprint I attempted to make aero bars for my mountain bike (fat tire category) but apparently only finger tightened the bars back on. One mile into bike leg my handle bars dropped down and I had to hold them up for the remaining ride. The mile 2 I dropped my water bottle and of course it stayed in the bike lane so I ran back and picked it up. Nothing more to do after that but cheer on everybody that passed me. Funny thing was I took first place since nobody else entered the category :)

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http://www.sfuelsgolonger.com

I was back home for a few days and a friend and I decided to do a tri. He had just bought a new bike so let me use his old one which was still twice better than mine. We left at 4am flying on the motorway trying to make the race registration time (long drive). 15 mins from the race site another friend in the back seat nervously taps me to tell me there is only 1 bike on the rack. His 'old' bike had fallen off somewhere. We couldn't find it after a quick search so went to the race anyway. Must have been with at least £1000. I managed to borrow a beater mountain bike and started the bike portion of the race on it. After an eternity I came back to transition exhausted and with sore knees only to learn it was a two lap course and I was just going really slow. Only time I can remember giving up in a race.

Hopefully someone gave the bike a good home before it got rusty....

Awesome flying dismount off the bike into a nice run entering T2. I was THE MAN...until i realized, after racking my bike, that my bike shoes were no longer clipped in. I had to run back to the Bike In and look for my shoes that had been thrown to the side. Face palm! I still perform this move today, only now i keep an eye on the shoes.

Finally, filing this under "we told you not to try anything new on race day", decided to shave a few seconds in T2 and run sock-less for the first time ever ever. Fucking crying by mile 3.

Finally finally, do not, i repeat do not eat a chicken ranch melt with double meat from subway the night before a race.

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It's not about what you've done, it's about what you're doing!
@trecca17

Great thread - first time I've posted in months

My two favorite stories:
* In my first ocean tri (Santa Cruz Tri ~'95 ) I figured I needed a wet suit I picked up the cheapest wetsuit I could find at Big 5 - a sleeveless surfer suit. Of course I never practiced taking it off, and I rolled around in T1 like a dog with his head stuck in a peanut-butter jar for several minutes.

* In my first X-terra, I decided for some reason that would run (or maybe swim?) better with a plain Lycra pair of tights, no chamois. My scranus did not do well over 15 miles of rocky east coast singletrack...

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" I take my gear out of my car and put my bike together. Tourists and locals are watching from sidewalk cafes. Non-racers. The emptiness of of their lives shocks me. "
(opening lines from Tim Krabbe's The Rider , 1978

I took my roadbike with road pedals to a local sprint tri...... when I got to T1 I realised I'd packed my MTB shoes with MTB cleats. They don't match too well, so rode with my runners slip sliding all over the pedals.

You all are a bunch of clowns LOL

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http://RoadID.com/...te/4HC4V-TAFQ9XPJDTX

First Muncie Endurathon 1994; like a DA I decided to switch my back wheel that had worked perfectly over 11 rides of the whole course in under 2:40 PR for an untested and non-fitting disc wheel in a 20-25mph head wind the whole race. Dropped the chain twice going up hill and landed on my ass/pride. 3:09 later the run was ugly.Ugly. UGLY.

Learned a whole lot of life lessons in that one day.

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STIndiana
America Multi-Sport, Inc.
America's Half June 10, 2017
USAT RD Century Club
http://www.americamultisport.com

Hahah! Ok, I feel slightly better for that.

I had a front row seat for a fight at the turn buoy. Someone from the wave ahead of me (WTF did they do wrong?) had the inside line. Someone from the wave behind me came hurtling up and wanted that line. At the apex the slow guy seemed to have the fast guy in a necklock, with no sign of either of them swimming... So I suppose things could have been worse for both of us!

I feel ya... I was having an epic race in the NYC Triathlon last year when some slow girl was riding on the left after passing... I yell out, "On your left!" and she swerves to her left, taking me out. (Not at all happy about it being the first crash in my bike.) Because my GPS wasn't working, I suspect this was around like 14 of the bike... So, the last 12 miles of the bike, my front brakes were rubbing on my wheel... I didn't think to check and make sure that they weren't... I thought the rest of the ride was hard because of the crash and bleeding, but nope... It was because I was working doubly hard with the brakes. *Facepalm* (This year... This year I WILL have redemption!!!)

I did this with my skin suit at Vegas Worlds last year, but got part way to bike out before I figured it out. I guess the long run from the water in the mud and the torrential rain (and excitement of racing Worlds) distracted me. Had to run the bike back about 40 meters to my T1 spot and take it off. Cost me at least 80- 90 seconds. Ugh.

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Rock Chalk!

Well, I must say that the psychological altered state in triathlon
now widely accepted by most international psychiatric associations
(only PENDING in Iceland)
known as "Race Brain" is a veritable infectious virus amongt Slowtwitch athletes.
I have found, at last, my family!

(p.s. if you are at all like me...picture "chicken with head cut off"...when Race Brain hits...there is NO known cure other than laughter)

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I'll see you in the run

The most obvious one was leaving T2 with my bike helmet. I was well out of T2 when somebody pointed it out. I took it off and handed it to a spectator. Magically I got the helmet back. The less obvious was my nutritional plan during my last HIM. I'm surprised I didn't have a heart-attack from all the salt I took in.

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

You should have a talk with Hydrosloth. He has the unique ability to re-ingest his OWN sweat through his EYES while popping salt pills through his MOUTH.
Then, post-race, he scrapes the residue off his face and saves for the next race. Thus, super ultra concentrated salt full of his own hormones. It's magic!

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I'll see you in the run

Sprint last summer, I'm first out on the bike directly behind the lead police car. It is out and back along pretty much one main road however towards the end kicks a block over so that traffic leaving and entering transition is all going counter clockwise not head on (well those of us out front did end up dealing with dismounting as people mounted which was annoying). I got passed on the bike (different AG so didn't care much) right before the turn around and at some point on the main road put my head down just cranking away. When I looked up the person in front of me and the lead car were gone. I know the course kicked to the right to take us a block over but didn't know where. I come up on a barrier in the road only blocking the return side not the outside so I figure this is the turn. I yell to a women standing on the corner straight or right? She points right.. I turn right and it was NOT where you were supposed to turn right. Instead of back tracking I continue down that road, end up on a very busy street go down that then turn left on the next block and right back into the race.. I'm now in third for my AG :( Those two people can't have been too far behind me and must have been cracking up when they saw me turn.

I fully understand it was my fault and I should have known the course, didn't think I'd be leading the whole race, but was really annoyed that they had a road block up but you were supposed to go straight down that road.

First triathlon...an Xterra offroad.
Second to last out of water, kind of out of whack, and jump on MTB. Almost a quarter mile into the bike course when I hear, "You need a helmet!" I had to go back to T1 and put on my helmet....

I spewed water on my keyboard at "scranus". Thank you. I can't wait to drop that one on my wife. The word, that is.

My neck at Alcatraz and I did use body glide: FLICKR Photo

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

First time I raced with a swim skin I pulled it down to my waist after running out of the water, but forgot to pull it all the way off at my transition spot and rode the 40k bike with it on. Actually wasn't that bad. Wasn't hot or uncomfortable...just a little unaero. Not flapping in the wind...just sort of like I was wearing a fanny pack.

First triathlon: Coming out of T1, I took the shortest route to get out, which happened to be through a sand volleyball court. Well sand and speedplay cleats don't play nicely. Spent 3+ miles pedaling with one leg until I could finally get the other foot clipped in. Next year, I made sure to steer way clear of the volleyball court and had the same damn thing happen again (but only for a mile this time). Third year I just carried my damn shoes to the mount line.

Ouch, saltwater does chafe like a mofo. All the sighting at Alcatraz doesn't help matters.

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ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

1) Wasn't paying attention to bike course markings and went 3 miles the wrong way before I started wondering why no one was around me anymore.
2) Turned right instead of left out of T2 and crossed the finish line. People were cheering for me because I just won the race. Pretty embarassing when I had to turn around and run out the other way.
3) Times were posted and it says that I won. I didn't have a watch or any way of knowing what my time was so I was like "Sweeeet, I won" went up to the podium and grabbed my trophy. Come to find out a few minutes later that they had missed my entire run time.
4) Tried to put on my tri top after the swim.

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Instagram or twitter me softly @xatefrogg

When I was on the bike I was like "You dumb a$$" and laughed about it.

You're lucky you weren't DQ'd for that.

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

Hah wore the new Tyr goggles on the bike too. They are that comfie ;0)

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Official Polar Ambassador
http://www.google.com/...P7RiWyEVwpunlsc2JtQQ